More Naples

Now that Maisie’s surgery is over I have a little bit of time to sit down and catch up a wee bit on my blogging.  Maisie continues to do well and really other than a little bit of a stiff neck and a minor sore throat she’s full energy and eating well.  The toughest part of her recovery is trying to keep her a little quiet and not launching herself into gymnastics. 

So to get pictures of Maisie in the hospital off the top of the blog, I’m posting more about Naples.  I absolutely love the top picture of Maisie, which Sophie took our last day on the beach so I’m posting it again at the top of this post.  Our last full day in Naples was on Easter Sunday and guess what, the Easter bunny knew where to find the children and delivered the goods.

Maisie’s Easter basket included a kite, the DVD Matilda, the books The Wonderful Wizard of Oz & Alice in Wonderland, modeling foam, bouncing putty, a hot pink slap watch, egg shaped sidewalk chalk, a package of push pencils and for my poor little food allergy and sugar free girl, a package of her favorite Breath Savers.

No chocolate or lots of Easter eggs in her basket but Maisie loved it.  

Cute little bunnies Brooke, Cole & Maisie

Maisie on one of the balconies showing off the snowman she made from her modeling foam.

I have to say, Naples was beautiful.  Here are some views from the condo where we stayed.

Looking north from the balcony off the living room master bedroom.

From the living room/master bedroom balcony, the pool & hot tub, 15 floors down.

The view looking east from the living room and both balconies.  That is the beach where we enjoyed our afternoons.

Looking southwest from the balcony off the kitchen & guest bedrooms. 

The view south from the balcony off the kitchen & guest bedrooms.

East from the balcony off the kitchen & guest bedrooms.

On the Saturday before we left we took a little touristy boat tour

We met some interesting folks and checked out some of the beautiful homes.We were told that most of these homes are vacation homes and used only a couple of weeks each year.  Though beautiful, I can’t even imagine nor would I ever want a home as big as any of these but it sure would be fun to tour the insides and stay for a week or two.

After the boat trip we enjoyed lunch at Tommy Bahama.  That’s my cocktail on the left, “The BBC” is quite tasty  ;-)

After our cruise and lunch we spent the afternoon on the beach where the children had fun digging in the sand and in the surf.

Spring break with Sophie, Brooke & Cole in Florida was great fun and a perfect getaway before Maisie’s surgery. 

Though not “The BBC” from Tommy Bahama, this Thin Mint Irish Coffee is pretty darn potent and awesome.  Truth be told, Eammon and I enjoyed them pretty regularly this past winter.  Just click on the picture to be taken to the recipe.

Other recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon Frosty,  Mango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake, Malted Pretzel Crunch, Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing, Apple Pancakes, Baked Egg & Avocado, Health(ier) Peanut Brittle, Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms, Broiled Sushi, Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter, Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Baked Meatballs, Skinny Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins and Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad.

Enjoy!